The Boston Red Sox have needed a lot of help on the mound this season, but Henry Owens has been passed over as a call-up in most of those moments.

The lanky left-hander was one of Boston’s top-ranked prospects going into the 2015 season — he even hit No. 44 on the top 100 in Major League Baseball — but after mixed results in major-league and Triple-A play from then until now, some are wondering if Owens ever will reach his full potential. However, Owens occasionally does something to prove his worth, like flirting with a no-hitter against the Charlotte Knights on Saturday.

Owens kept the Chicago White Sox’s Triple-A affiliate out of the hit column through 7 2/3 innings Saturday before Chris Marrero couldn’t wrangle a throw to first base from second baseman Mike Miller, which led to a two-out single. Owens exited the game after loading the bases with a walk immediately after — he already had a runner on from a hit by pitch — and his hard work was spoiled somewhat after reliever Chandler Shepherd gave up a double that plated three runs, all of which were charged to Owens.

But Owens’ outing still shows there’s something there for him to be a viable big-league starter.

At this point, the southpaw, who turns 24 on Thursday, projects as a back-end starter rather than an ace. Owens relies on a low-90s fastball that lacks command and a changeup that’s actually pretty nasty, but he’ll need to solidify a third pitch — in this case his curveball or slider — before he really can be effective in the majors. And he seriously needs to cut down on walks — he already has 60 (plus 10 hit batsmen) in 16 starts.

Things like Owens’ near no-hitter and the fact that he started the minor league season with a 0.72 ERA in four starts, however, show that he’s a Major League Baseball-caliber talent apart from the things he needs to work on. And with the Red Sox lacking starting pitching depth, that could become very important when September rolls around.

Pokémon Go is taking over the world, and the Pawtucket Red Sox are getting on board.

The PawSox are the latest Minor League Baseball team to host a Pokémon Go Night, allowing fans to stay after Sunday’s 1:05 p.m. matchup against the Charlotte Knights at McCoy Stadium to play the game. Fans can play on the warning track, in the bowl seats and on the main concourse.

“Pokémon Go is currently the No. 1 rated app in the iTunes App Store, and its booming popularity will be a big hit with PawSox fans this weekend,” PawSox senior vice president and general manager Dan Rea said in a press release. “McCoy Stadium is loaded with all kinds of Pokémon, ensuring that this coming Sunday will be a day to remember.”

The PawSox hold a run the bases event every Sunday, so the Pokémon Go festivities will start once the runners are off the field, and players will have approximately one hour to catch ’em all. Fans who can’t attend the game but still want to see the variety of Pokémon living at McCoy Stadium can buy $5 tickets and enter the stadium through Gate B after the game.

Chris Marrero hasn’t played in the majors since 2013. Even then, he has just 133 big league plate appearances to his name. But the 28-year-old former first-round pick has kept on trucking.

And on Monday night, Marrero was a star.

Marrero, now with the Boston Red Sox organization, won the 2016 Triple-A Home Run Derby after clubbing 18 home runs in the finals to edge Kyle Jensen of the Reno Aces. It was an impressive performance by the once highly-regarded Washington Nationals prospect, who recently was named an International League All-Star amid a breakout first half with Triple-A Pawtucket.

“This was cool,” Marrero said after Monday’s triumph, according to MiLB.com. “The fans were really into it. They kept the adrenaline going.”

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Marrero, who spent last season split between the Red Sox’s and Chicago White Sox’s farm systems, is tied for second in the International League with 16 home runs. The first baseman/outfielder has been an offensive force for the PawSox, driving in 43 runs and posting an .868 OPS through 84 games.

Clearly, it’s been a season of highlights for Marrero, who joined the Red Sox organization as a free agent in August 2015. And his performance in the Derby was made even more special by the fact that he had legendary former Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith in his corner as a celebrity captain.

“I had Steve Smith there, that was incredible,” Marrero said, per MiLB.com. “This is a memory I’ll have the rest of my life. … (Smith) was motivating me.”

Perhaps Marrero can build on his successful performance, to the point where a major league call-up — and thus another lifelong memory — becomes a possibility.

Minor League Baseball marketers might be the only people in America who aren’t yet sick of Deflategate.

The New England Patriots’ underinflated footballs controversy has spawned a pair of promotions in the Triple-A International League: “Free Brady Friday” at the home of the understandably pro-Tom Brady Pawtucket Red Sox, and the Buffalo Bisons’ “Keep Brady Suspended” Night, which will take place one night later.

And while minor league promos tend to be as cheesy as can be, both of these actually are pretty funny.

The PawSox will offer free admission to next Friday’s home game against the Louisville Bats to any fan named “Tom” or “Brady.” The Bisons, meanwhile, plan to fill their doubleheader next Saturday with Deflategate-related gags, including “buy-one, get-one free tickets to anyone that brings a PROPERLY-INFLATED football to be donated to area youth football programs” and the acceptance of “UN-DESTROYED cell phone donations for ‘Cell Phones for Soldiers’.”

But wait, there’s more. “Toms” and “Bradys” will be allowed to attend the festivities but “will not be allowed to watch the first four innings of Game 1 of the doubleheader.” Think of it as a four-inning suspension.

“Please,” the team said in a news release announcing the promotion, “no appeals.”

The Pawtucket Red Sox are taking advantage of “Free Brady” fever in New England.

The phrase has become the battle cry of the region since Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s four-game suspension was reinstated, and you can join in the call during the Boston Red Sox Triple-A affiliate’s June 10 game against the Louisville Bats, which the PawSox declared “Free Brady Friday.” Pawtucket hosts a series of giveaways on “Free (Blank) Fridays,” and this installment allows anyone named Tom or Brady to attend the game free of charge with valid identification.

But if you’re name is neither Tom nor Brady, you still can get a small discount and give back to a good cause. Box seats, which normally are $13, will be $12 in honor of Brady, and the PawSox will give a quarter back (get it?) to the Best Buddies foundation for each of those tickets sold.

Learn more about it from NESN’s “Red Sox Gameday Live” in the video above.

The Red Sox hope that will help him learn the outfield and potentially be able to play there when needed, depending on what the team’s catcher situation looks like.

“We think he has a chance to be a good catcher — an All-Star type catcher. It won’t hurt him to go down and continue to develop those skills,” Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Friday. “And with Christian (Vazquez) coming on board, we don’t think the catching time here will be enough to continue for (Swihart) to grow in that regard. So, we do want him to continue to catch.

“The second part of it is, as we look towards the future, we would like Christian Vazquez and Blake Swihart to both be part of our club, and they’re both not going to be everyday catchers with our team. (Swihart) is more athletic, he’s a converted catcher, we think he can make a conversion to an another position, even on a part time basis so we can keep his bat in the lineup.

“He’s also going to learn, when we send him out, we’re going to start hitting him fly balls in left field. We think that’s more fair to do that down in Triple-A than to put him in at the big-league level here and say ‘here you go.’ He’s going to start working on that. The combination between catching — we’re not going to put him right in left field to play, we’re going to start hitting him fly balls — but we think he’ll be able to make the conversion while continuing to catch and DH. He’ll be in the lineup everyday. We think that’s more beneficial for him at this stage of his career than playing on a periodic basis here.”

Red Sox manager John Farrell said before Friday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park that Swihart wasn’t surprised by the team’s intention for him to take fly balls in left field. Farrell and Swihart actually had conversations about it during spring training.

Swihart is batting .278 (5 for 18) with one RBI in six games played this season. Sending him to Pawtucket leaves the Red Sox with Vazquez, who was called up from Triple-A on Friday, and veteran Ryan Hanigan as the catchers on their major-league roster.

Barnes pitched twice in his most recent stint with Boston. He allowed six earned runs on six hits in five innings against the Cleveland Indians on Aug. 17. He also gave up five earned runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings in a loss to the Kansas City Royals on Saturday. Barnes took the loss in both games.

Aro is a 24-year-old reliever with three major league appearances in 2015. His last outing was July 1 against the Toronto Blue Jays, during which he gave up three earned runs on six hits in three innings of work.

Henry Owens and Jackie Bradley Jr. are making strides at the major league level with the Boston Red Sox, yet they’re still being recognized for what they showed earlier this season at Triple-A Pawtucket.

Baseball America released its 2015 “Best Tools” list in installments this week. Both Owens and Bradley represented the Red Sox on the International League portion of the annual list, which ranks the top minor league players in several categories based on physical attributes.

Triple-A managers and coaches voted Owens as having the “Best Changeup” in the International League. Bradley, meanwhile, was voted the International League’s “Best Defensive Outfielder.”

The “Best Tools” list isn’t perfect, by any means, mostly because it’s already outdated. Carlos Correa, for example, was voted by Double-A managers and coaches as the Texas League’s “Most Exciting Player.” The 20-year-old since has cemented himself as one of Major League Baseball’s most exciting players amid an historical start to his big league career with the Houston Astros.

It’s still noteworthy, though, as it offers more evidence that the Red Sox have good young talent despite a disappointing 2015 season. Owens has pitched well in two starts with Boston, while Bradley has shown signs of improvement offensively since being recalled when Mookie Betts went down with a concussion.

The Red Sox are no strangers to Baseball America’s “Best Tools” list. In fact, Owens earned three distinctions from Double-A managers and coaches last season before being promoted to Triple-A.

Boston Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino, who is part of the Pawtucket Red Sox’s ownership group, made a special trip Wednesday to Durham Bulls Athletic Park, and NESN was there to chronicle the trek.

NESN’s Adam Pellerin spoke with Lucchino about how the Durham Bulls prospered from building a new stadium, something the PawSox are looking to do in their proposed future ballpark in Providence, R.I.

“Well, it was important to show our supporters and critics a successful example of where a minor league ballpark became more than a ballpark — (it) became a catalyst for economic development. (It) helped to do more than just attract baseball fans to downtown, but to bring about a renovation and a new vitality to the downtown area,” Lucchino said on “Red Sox Final” after Boston defeated the New York Yankees 2-1 on Wednesday.

Barnes will return to the rotation Wednesday at Triple-A Pawtucket, according to Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell. The 25-year-old has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen in 26 career major league appearances, but he’s flip-flopped between a relief role and a starting role in the minors.

Barnes debuted with Boston in 2014, making five relief appearances down the stretch. The right-hander entered spring training in 2015 as a starter and converted into a reliever late in camp. He then switched back into a starter to open the regular season, only to again transition into a reliever a short time later as Boston sought to add a power arm to its bullpen. He initially remained a reliever after being optioned back to Pawtucket, but the PawSox now need a starter with Brian Johnson landing on the disabled list.

Wednesday’s start for the PawSox will mark Barnes’ first start since May 1. The 2011 first-round pick is 1-0 with a 3.77 ERA in 14 appearances (three starts) with Pawtucket this season. He owns a 5.17 ERA over 31 1/3 innings in his career at the big league level.

The Red Sox tried to avoid flip-flopping another prospect, Brandon Workman, last season after using him in both a starting role and a relief role in 2013. Workman struggled as a starter and since has undergone Tommy John surgery that will sideline him for all of this season.

The Boston Red Sox’s sinking ship is beginning to take on more water. And it has nothing to do with Mother Nature’s tricks, which forced a doubleheader Monday at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

The Red Sox, losers of five straight, were swept away by the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend. The Halos absolutely pummeled the Sox, capping the four-game beatdown with two convincing victories in Monday’s twin bill.

It’s hard to draw positives from the Red Sox’s performance against the Angels. It was a lopsided series that magnified just how far Boston is from being the club it aspired to be this season.

The Sox left The Big A sitting nine games under .500 (42-51) and nine games back of the division-leading New York Yankees in the American League East. The Angels, meanwhile, own a 52-40 record and a two-game lead over the Houston Astros in the AL West.

— Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval contributed to Monday’s woes with a pair of defensive miscues in Game 1 of the doubleheader.

Microcosm, anyone?

Daniel Robertston hit a line drive over Ramirez’s head as part of the Angels’ seven-run second inning against Eduardo Rodriguez. Ramirez basically froze and never recovered. It was a bad play.

“It looked like he got turned around on it,” Red Sox manager John Farrell told reporters in Anaheim. “It looked like, if he gets a decent break on it, it’s possibly a catchable ball. It ends up going over his head.”

Sandoval was charged with an error two innings later when he failed to glove a sharp ground ball hit by Albert Pujols. It was a rocket, no doubt, but it was a play Sandoval needed to make, especially with two outs. The Angels ended up scoring four runs in the inning to open an 11-1 lead.

Ramirez has made an impact at the plate this season, but he’s been terrible, for the most part, in left field. Sandoval has underachieved in both areas despite occasional glimpses of improvement.

Perhaps it’s too early to pass judgment on either player’s Red Sox tenure. We’re just 93 games into Year 1. But the organization likely expected more when it shelled out nearly $200 million.

— Steven Wright, like Rodriguez in Game 1, suffered from a disastrous inning in Game 2. The Angels scored four runs in the third to take a 5-0 lead. It stemmed from a lack of control.

“When you have two outs and you have two-out walks, I kind of shot myself in the foot,” Wright told reporters. “If I had been able to limit that inning, I would have been able to go deeper and give us a chance to win.”

Too much movement, perhaps? Oh, the perils of a knuckleballer.

— The Red Sox’s biggest positive Monday likely occurred in Norfolk, Va., where outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. smacked two home runs for Triple-A Pawtucket.
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Bradley is hitting .315 with nine home runs, 27 RBIs and a .389 on-base percentage in 64 games with the PawSox this season. He has two multihomer games in his last four contests.

“Jackie’s tearing up Triple A. I’ve got a lot of scouts telling me this guy is a player that a lot of clubs don’t have,” Bradley’s agent, Scott Boras, told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier last week. “He’s an extraordinary defender.

“Certainly the Red Sox know that if they don’t have that opening, you know that he’s going to be a commodity in demand. There really aren’t that many players, particularly with that one tool of defense. Jackie can lead off and really be a fine major leaguer for a long time.”

It’ll be interesting to see if/how Bradley fits into the Red Sox’s second-half plans or if Boston will consider trading him in the right deal. He’s never been able to take advantage of his major league opportunities, at least offensively, so it’s difficult to put too much stock into his Triple-A performance, however encouraging it might be for someone with so much defensive upside.

Brian Johnson still doesn’t know exactly when he’ll make his major league debut, but a time frame finally is in sight.

The Boston Red Sox’s top prospect will take the mound either Monday against the Los Angeles Angels in the finale of a four-game set or Tuesday in Houston against the Astros, Sox manager John Farrell told reporters Thursday at an optional team workout in Los Angeles.

Johnson owns a 2.73 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 85 2/3 innings for Pawtucket. He was called up to the big leagues last week in the wake of Clay Buchholz’s injury, but did not make an appearance in two games against the New York Yankees.

It might make more sense for Johnson to start Tuesday against Houston, for two reasons: the Astros’ propensity to strike out, and the number of right-handed batters in the Angels’ lineup.

The left-hander averages nearly a strikeout per inning, and the Astros have struck out 838 times this season — more than any team in the majors. Plus, Los Angeles regularly features just two left-handed batters in its lineup. Houston is no cakewalk, but any advantage the Red Sox can give Johnson in his debut can’t hurt.

Wade Miley, who pitched the series finale against the Yankees on Sunday, will take the ball Friday night against the Angels to kick off the second half. Rick Porcello will start Saturday and Eduardo Rodriguez gets the nod Sunday. Johnson will pitch one of the following two days, but Farrell hasn’t committed to when yet.

Miley will be working on his normal four days of rest, but every other pitcher on the staff is more rested. Rodriguez made the most sense on paper, but the team is looking for ways to cut down on Rodriguez’s innings counter. Moving him back a few days logistically helps that process.

— Justin Masterson is not a candidate to start the fifth open slot. He’ll remain in the bullpen.

Bradley was added to the International League All-Star team Monday. The outfielder was the leading vote-getter in fan balloting, but he was in the majors with the Boston Red Sox at the time the team was announced. Now back with Triple-A Pawtucket, Bradley has accepted his spot on the All-Star roster.

Bradley joins left-handed pitcher Brian Johnson as the PawSox’s All-Star representatives. Johnson will not participate in the July 15 game, however, as his next scheduled start for Pawtucket is July 11.

Bradley is hitting .319 in 54 games for the PawSox this season. The 25-year-old entered Monday ranked second in the International League in batting, second in on-base percentage (.396) and third in slugging pct. (.460). His defense, of course, is considered elite at any level.

The Pawtucket Red Sox announced Thursday that Johnson has been elected to the International League All-Star Team for the 28th annual Triple-A All-Star Game, which will be played July 15 in Omaha, Neb.

Johnson, who is considered one of the Boston Red Sox’s top pitching prospects, has dazzled for the PawSox this season, posting an 8-5 record and a 2.68 ERA in 15 starts. The left-hander was limited to just five pitches in his last start and took the loss, as he walked the only batter he faced before exiting the game with food poisoning. That baserunner ended up scoring as the PawSox lost 3-0.

Johnson, a first-round pick (31st overall) in 2012, entered Thursday ranked first in the International League in WHIP (1.08), second among starters in strikeouts per nine innings (8.48) and fourth in batting average against (.214).

Johnson was named the Red Sox’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year last season after going 13-3 with a 2.13 ERA in 25 starts split between High-A Salem and Double-A Portland. The 24-year-old likely will make his way to Boston soon, especially with the club’s rotation battling inconsistency this season.

Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal later reported, however, that Johnson’s early exit was the result of illness, not injury.

Johnson was a first-round pick of the Red Sox in 2012 and currently is the sixth-ranked prospect (and third-ranked pitcher) in Boston’s minor league system, according to MLB.com. The 24-year-old left-hander boasts a 2.31 ERA and 1.03 WHIP over 14 starts in this, his first season at Triple-A.

The first step to solving a problem is admitting there is one. Joe Kelly took that first step Sunday.

Kelly mostly breezed through his first start with the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox since being demoted to the minors last week. The 27-year-old right-hander needed just 95 pitches to get through seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk and striking out four batters in the PawSox’s 3-2, 11-inning win over the Gwinett Gladiators.

In six of those innings, Kelly went relatively unscathed. But the one that went wrong was a microcosm of the reasons for his demotion by the Boston Red Sox.

Kelly’s “bad” frame was the fourth, in which he gave up both runs on three hits. The unearned run is a bit misleading — Kelly gave up three singles in the inning, and the error that caused the second run to be unearned was on an RBI single that right fielder Quintin Berry misplayed, allowing the runner to move up to second base. Both runs essentially still were Kelly’s fault.

To be fair, Kelly induced a grounder to second base on the next play that, without the error, might have been an inning-ending double play. Instead, the runner advanced to third on the grounder and eventually scored. Three singles and two runs isn’t terrible by any means, but it’s that type of hiccup that a major league team turns into a crooked number on the scoreboard.

Further, Kelly’s command wasn’t quite where it needed to be. He threw just 16 first-pitch strikes to the 24 batters he faced, according to the Providence Journal. Commanding his dominant fastball — or rather his inability to — has been the source of Kelly’s troubles and subsequent demotion. He typically was able to work around a first-pitch ball and avoid favorable counts for hitters deeper in at-bats, but again, major league hitters make pitchers pay for even the most miniscule of mistakes.

On the first RBI hit, Kelly fell behind the batter 2-0. On the other, Kelly went ahead 0-2, threw a ball and then gave up the hit. It’s those situations where he needs to be better.

That said, Kelly will take seven innings of two-run ball at this point. Any progress is good progress, and he was happy with the way things shook out.

“The fastball command was a lot better,” Kelly told the Journal. “It’s important obviously to get ahead of hitters with well-located fastballs, especially against this team which is aggressive. I tried to get some quick outs and easy outs.”

When new Red Sox pitching coach Carl Willis was hired last month, he made a point of emphasizing that he wanted Boston’s pitchers to throw to their strengths, not the batters’ weaknesses. Kelly did a lot of that Sunday, as he reportedly shook off catcher Luis Martinez several times to work more of his breaking and offspeed pitches into his repertoire.

“I made a conscious effort to mix some pitches today and throw inside to hitters,” Kelly said, “and I feel like I was able to do that effectively.”

Learning to establish the inside part of the plate effectively could do wonders for Kelly, who at his best hits 98 mph with his fastball and works in a devastating changeup. Pitching inside was what made former Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez so great. It’s the hallmark of any successful power pitcher.

Kelly still has a lot of work to do, and he might never win that Cy Young he predicted, but Sunday was a step in the right direction for someone with so much potential. At worst, it showed Kelly’s awareness of changes he needs to make and a willingness to do so. And on Day 1 of this Joe Kelly Makeover, recognizing the problem probably is the best thing the Red Sox could’ve asked for.

Masterson, working under a pitch count, threw 50 pitches Sunday for the PawSox before being lifted with two outs in the second inning. The right-hander allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits and three walks in what was a shaky first step toward returning from the 15-day disabled list.

“The first inning, I felt tremendous,” Masterson said, according to the Providence Journal’s Brian MacPherson. “The second inning, physically, I felt good, but mechanically, not so much — rushing, drifting, everything was going out. Everything started getting behind. I was yanking sinkers. Up until that point, it was great.”

Masterson, who posted a 6.37 ERA and a 1.67 WHP with Boston before landing on the DL on May 14, struck out two in his 1 2/3 frames. The 30-year-old, whose velocity has been an issue dating back to last season, touched 92 mph in the first inning, according to MacPherson, before sitting around 87 mph in the second inning.

“I don’t even know what the velocity was, but I wasn’t behind it, so I ended up getting on the side of the ball and not being able to drive it as I was in the first inning,” Masterson said. “That’s what was disappointing.”

Masterson’s velocity might never return to its peak levels. Instead, he must learn to effectively pitch in the mid- to high-80s. While there were points this season when Masterson worked OK under the constraints, in large because of a good-looking slider, there were other times when he simply couldn’t retire hitters.

It’s unclear when Masterson will return to the Red Sox or what his role will be moving forward. Boston currently is working with a six-man rotation in the wake of Eduardo Rodriguez’s strong major league debut. But Masterson definitely will need to show more than he did Sunday to elicit confidence.

Masterson told MacPherson he expects his next rehab start to come with Double-A Portland.

Johnson took a line drive off the face in August 2012 while pitching for the Lowell Spinners in the annual Futures at Fenway event. He exited on a stretcher and suffered multiple orbital bone fractures, but the accident hardly derailed the left-hander’s quest to reach the majors with the Boston Red Sox.

“And that’s when I went to swallow, and it felt like my teeth, instead of being straight, were all going at an angle. But that was just swelling because my jaw had fractured and shifted.”

Johnson, now 24, has thrived at Triple-A Pawtucket this season. He tossed six perfect innings Friday for the PawSox, lowering his ERA to 2.60 through 10 starts. The 2012 first-round pick posted a 1.75 ERA in 20 starts at Double-A Portland last season en route to being named the Red Sox’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

It shouldn’t be long before Johnson debuts in the bigs. He certainly has earned the opportunity. With Boston’s rotation struggling to find consistency and Johnson taking care of business down on the farm, the southpaw is one development away from receiving his first call-up, which wasn’t even a consideration in that fateful summer of 2012.

“I didn’t even think about baseball during the recovery,” Johnson told Mastrodonato. “First things first, I wanted to look normal. I wanted to look in the mirror and not notice anything different.”

Johnson remembers being nervous immediately following the 2012 incident, as he was unsure the extent of the damage and whether it would impact his career over the long run. A few inches in another direction could have spelled disaster, but now Johnson is using the accident as an additional source of motivation.

“It puts everything in perspective a little bit more,” Johnson told Mastrodonato. “Like the doctor explained to me, if I don’t move right before that ball hits me … I lose my eyesight and I’m done playing baseball.

“I guess for me, I kind of just, when you’re having a bad day or a bad outing, it puts things in perspective. Work your tail off, do whatever you can, because I almost had to learn the hard way.”

Johnson almost faced a devastating reality. Instead, he’s on the cusp of achieving his dream as an even stronger individual.